Case of the Curious Mustache

Only a week into writing this blog & I've already taken 5 days off from working on it...while being unemployed & sitting on my couch mostly. This does not bode well for the blog while traveling.

After I came back from 3 days of camping in Yosemite this weekend, I told myself it was OK to take a day or 2 to recover & get some sleep, and then I woke up in a panic this morning when I realized I pretty much only have 3 days between now & September 1st to pack up my room and possessions so the subletter can move in. Due to a music festival this weekend in SF, I'm pretty much losing those 3 days. Since it's 9:30PM, I now have 2 days to move out. I hadn't done a thing towards this goal as of this morning & still didn't do enough today; had a fantasy football draft to study up for instead (priorities).

The only real progress I've made on the trip in the last few days is just getting more advice on places to go/avoid from random people.

In fact, if I had to make a list of "most recommended places to visit" in Europe, the list would go something like this (starting with most frequently recommended):

1). Barcelona - Absolutely running away with the votes. People have guaranteed me it'll be the most fun I have & that's where I'll stay longest.

2). Amsterdam - No explanation needed.

3). Cinque Terre, Italy - This one surprised me because when I first read about it in a travel book, I felt like I had just stumbled on to a secret place that no one else had ever heard of. Took me like 5 different people recommending Cinque Terre for me to realize that millions of people other than me have read travel books. Oh well, still thinking it'll be a great place.

4). Munich - Both during Oktoberfest & post-Oktoberfest have been recommended. I've been watching & re-watching Beerfest hoping it's exactly like that.

5). Switzerland - Some have said to get there before the snow hits the Alps; some have said the most fun they had was enjoying the snow in Switzerland.

And for the 5 least recommended places:

5). Frankfurt - Boring, least interesting city in Germany?

4). Venice - Surprisingly not interesting for how much it's talked about?

3). Eastern Europe - Recommended to check out a few major cities (Prague, Budapest, Vienna) but nothing more in this area.

2). Madrid - I don't think it's that Madrid isn't OK, but more likely people just telling me that I'll want to spend much more time in Barcelona than Madrid.

1). London - Shocking to me. Almost unanimously people have said it's just like being in the US, London is the most Americanized city. Others said everyone gets to England eventually for some reason so don't waste my time on this particular trip.

And for those of you who mindlessly read through those useless words above, I now reward you with my latest project. Yes, after 26 years of life, I finally put in my first true effort to grow facial hair. And here are the ghastly results of my Little Wispy Bitch Mustache:

Mat Loving - world's smartest man??

Only a quick post today as I'm "busy."

I had day 1 of practice today by loading 15+ lbs of stuff into my daypack & walking about 7 miles with it on. Some mixed results on that: pack felt good, fit enough stuff that I have confidence it's the right size for my trip, but I was sweating in the back area like a motherf*cker. I wonder if I'll have to bring an extra shirt with me everywhere for that reason. Today was worth it because the pay off was a breadbowl of Clam Chowder down at the wharf. That was definitely a food item that I needed to have before I leave, as In-n-Out Burger will be too.

Anyway, the point of this blog is that I wanted to throw some praise in the direction of my friend Mat Loving. Not only did Mat graduate summa cum laude from Amherst College (oh wait, that was UMass Amherst? Same thing right?), but he also did a very similar trip to what I'm planning only 2 years ago. So it comes as no surprise that he's been so helpful in giving tips & advice for my planning.

For an example of Mat's brilliance, please see the photo (you may be able to see it better by clicking on it), as he created an exact replica of Europe (to scale mind you) out of a paper table cloth & crayons for my reference. Thanks Mat and congratulations on being qualified to pass the 1st grade.

First Post/Test Running the Blog

I'm leaving for Europe in 27 days, leaving San Francisco for Boston in 18 days. It seems crazy that I settled on my final plan for this trip just 1 month ago and already it's almost time to leave.

My final day of work was last Friday, so as I sit here unemployed & with plenty of time, I'm trying to check off lots of things on the "To Do List." One of those things is to set up a blog because I'm arrogant enough to think you're all going to want to read about my travels, stories, and screw ups over the next 4 months.

First thing's first...the title of my blog is "Adventures of Uncle Traveling Ross," for no real reason other than I loved Fraggle Rock growing up (there was an Uncle Traveling Matt on that show) and Aaron just suggested that name 20 minutes ago. I'm lazy, what can I say? I've included a photo of Uncle Traveling Matt because I fully expect to look exactly like this by the time I get back, white mustache & all.

I don't expect to write many serious things in my blog because I'm not a serious person, but let me just say that I will miss everyone who's part of my life right now a ton while I'm gone. And I apologize in advance that most of the time when I'm interacting with people, I seem to be discussing my trip & only my trip. I swear I'm not usually this self-absorbed. It's easy to talk about the trip non-stop because A). I'm excited and B). It seems like every other person in the world has done some variation of what I'm about to do.

"What I'm about to do." Let's discuss that for a minute:

I have never left this continent, barely been out of the country (Canada, which really shouldn't count as another country), so for a long time now I've had the travel itch & have been wanting to go on an adventure like nothing I've ever done...something different than the annual March Vegas trip perhaps??

Anyway, it was only 5-6 weeks ago that I finally decided now is the right time to take an "extended vacation," and do some solo traveling through Europe. I quickly decided to expand the trip to include a stop in Australia. It seemed like the right time for several reasons:

-my lifemate/roommate from BU is spending a semester in the Netherlands & I was already committed to visiting him for a minimum of 2 weeks this fall

-I have absolutely nothing holding me back right now

-While I've enjoyed the 4 years of experience I've gotten in the software/sales industry, I've become more & more disenchanted with it recently & decided it's better to take a break and think about what I really want to do at the age of 26 versus potentially trying to change careers 10 years from now

-I've been fortunate over the last 4 years to be able to save some $$ where I can afford not to work for the next 4 months while I fuck around in Europe/Australia

-Its very possible if I delay the trip any longer, I may never get a chance to do it again. As lots of people have told me, anything could happen at any time to keep me from ever having this opportunity

So here's the plan (definitely still a work in progress): go home to Boston/Fitchburg for about 8 days to see the family & some friends since I'm not planning on going home any other time this fall/winter. Fly from Boston to Brussels, Belgium, on 9/14, and spend the next 10 weeks in Europe. It's a pretty open-ended trip. The only definite is that I'll be spending some time early on with Werner (the BU lifemate) in the Netherlands & Belgium. From there, I have an idea of other countries I'd like to visit (Germany, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Portugal to name a few). But I assume I'll keep the itinerary wide open (as has been suggested to me many times) so that I can stay places I like longer, or tag along with people I meet who might be doing something different than I had planned.

On 11/24, I fly from Paris to Sydney, Australia. Before you say anything, yes, I realize that Australia isn't like a natural part of a European backpacking adventure. I realize that it is FAR away from anywhere in Europe. But I've also always wanted to check out Australia, and reliable sources have said that Sydney might be the most beautiful city in the world. So I figured why half-ass this trip? I'm spending a full month in Australia (probably will do a week of that in New Zealand), and I fly back on 12/25. Merry f-ing Christmas!

I had planned to write a bit more about my preparations over the last few days for my trip, but I'm 3/4ths of the way through a bottle of Chardonnay (Magnum sized) by myself at 11PM. Also, I just went to the bathroom, tripped and landed on top of the scale, and was disappoined in the weight it showed...so I think it's time for bed.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post where I'll discuss:

-my 3 hour trip to REI today

-the rest of my "To Do List" (I realize I mentioned that list early in this post...but that was several glasses of wine ago)

-the nightmare of a housemate I've chosen to live w/ Aaron & Ben while I'm gone

-what thing I'll miss the most while I'm gone (hint: it starts with "Bos" & ends with "ton Sports")

-what I'm expecting to accomplish on this trip

-who I'm going to miss the most while I'm gone (just joking...I would never disclose that info. Although Smokey the cat is probably on the list)